If you believe you are paying too much in child support, you do have a few options. You can talk to your ex and see if they’re willing to voluntarily lower child support. Or you can file a motion with the court asking for a reduction in support. This article takes a closer look at the process.
If your financial situation has changed and you need to lower your child support payments, you should speak with a seasoned Tomball child support lawyer at Bolton Law.
How Do Courts Determine Child Support?
In most cases, the courts use pre-set guidelines to calculate child support. All the judge’s clerk will do is plug your financial information into the child support program and it will calculate the amount you need to pay every month.
The way this works is that the clerk will enter your take-home income into the system. They will also enter any other relevant information such as health insurance costs and other related expenses. Then they will have to enter the number of nights you have your kids overnight. The program will then do the calculations for the clerk and print out the results.
While the judge can deviate from the child support guidelines, they rarely do so. Unless your Tomball child support lawyer can submit proof that you are paying other special expenses for your children, you will be ordered to pay the amount determined by the child support guidelines.
Your Tomball Child Support Lawyer Can File a Motion to Reduce the Amount
If you want your child support to be reduced, your child support lawyer in Texas will have to file a motion. This motion will be filed with the family court in your county. Your attorney will also send a copy of the motion to your ex or their attorney. They will have 15 days to respond. Once they do, the judge will review the information submitted.
Usually, they will write their tentative order or decision and provide a copy to your Tomball attorney. They’ll also send a copy to your ex’s lawyer. If your attorney isn’t happy with the judge’s prospective decision, they can ask for a hearing on the motion. The court must give you this option unless you waived it at the time of filing.
Many times, a motion to reduce child support is either dismissed by the court or successfully challenged by the other parent. Unless your child support lawyer in Texas can prove that you can no longer afford to pay your child support, your motion will probably be denied. This means you shouldn’t file this type of motion until your situation has actually changed.
Your Must Demonstrate a Significant Change in Circumstances
To convince the judge to reduce child support, your child support lawyer in Texas must show that there has been a significant change in circumstances. You will need to demonstrate that you are earning less now than you were when the initial child support order was signed. You’ll also need to prove that this change is permanent.
You can’t file a motion with the court every time your pay is less than your usual amount. If the judge agrees to reduce support, you won’t be able to file another motion for a while. The courts are very strict when it comes to a change in child support. Their priority is to protect the best interests of the children.
The court will need to see that whatever financial loss you have suffered is long-term and not temporary. This means you should probably wait a month or two before your Tomball child support lawyer files your motion.
If you file your motion too soon, it will be denied. Knowing that it can take several weeks to prepare your motion, you should call today and get the process started.
Your Child Support Lawyer in Texas Must Submit Evidence Showing that Your Net Monthly Resources Has Decreased
Your child support lawyer in Texas will have to show the judge that your income has gone down since the last child support order was signed. Or you can show that your net monthly resources have decreased. For example, you may be bringing home the same amount as before, but you’re paying twice as much in healthcare for your kids. This would cut down the amount of net monthly resources you have.
Can Your Tomball Child Support Lawyer Show That You Are Now the Custodial Parent?
One other way to convince the judge to reduce child support is by showing that you are now the primary custodial parent. When the initial child support order was signed, you may have been the non-custodial parent. It is almost always the non-custodial parent who is ordered to pay child support. To do this, you’ll need to demonstrate that you have the children more nights per month than your ex.
For example, when you got divorced, you may have only had the children every other weekend. if something has changed and you now have them 80% of the time, then your ex is the one who should be paying child support.
The good news is that your Tomball child support lawyer can request that the reduction in support be retroactively applied to the date you filed your motion. However, this is not always the case. They may order that it be changed only for child support payments going forward.
It’s in Your Best Interest to Meet With a Child Support Lawyer in Texas
If you believe you are paying too much in child support, you do have a few options. You can talk to your ex and see if they’re willing to voluntarily lower child support. Or you can file a motion with the court asking for a reduction in support. If this is the option you choose, you should speak with a seasoned child support lawyer in Texas.
If your Tomball child support lawyer can show that your financial situation has changed substantially, you may be able to convince the court to lower the amount of child support you must pay each month. To do this, you’ll have to submit very specific evidence showing that your current amount of child support is too high.
Knowing that it can take several weeks to prepare your motion, you should call today and get the process started. We suggest that you call our office now so that you’re ready to file your motion in the near future. Having an attorney by your side will improve your chances of having the motion granted.
